Monitoring of Anisotropic Material Elastic Properties Using Ultrasonic Receiving Arrays

Abstract

A robust technique has been developed for determining the elastic constants of an anisotropic material and for on-line monitoring of changes in the the elastic properties. Use of an array of small piezoelectric elements as the receiver permits gathering information on the angle-of-arrival of the ultrasonic beam as well as the arrival time. Combining the array with a variable-angle transmitter, phase velocity measurements in an anisotropic material may be made over a range of propagation directions. The measuring and monitoring devices may be directly coupled to the material, immersion is not required.